No. 154.]

TH

EAST-INDIA MISSIONS. (Continued from p. 556.) HE account for 1781 mentions the death of one of the Missionaries at Madras, Mr. Hutteman; and that fifty converts had been added to the Danish church at Tranquebar.

The account for 1783 records the death of another Madras Missionary, Mr. Breithaupt. Mr. Swartz's congregation at Trichinapoly had received an addition of upwards of one hundred; most of whom, he feared, had been compelled by famine to come to him. He had, nevertheless, given them the necessary instruction, and procured them some provisions. The teaching of them was attended with much difficulty, on account of the decrease of their mental as well as bodily powers from the famine; but he did not think it would have been consistent with the will of God not to have received them. The famine had been so severe, that a vigorous and strong man was hardly to be found. Hyder Ally had carried off many thousands of the inhabitants; besides which, many thousands died of want; so that it was not surprising to find, not only empty houses, but desolated villages.

In the account of 1784, it appears, that in Bengal Mr. Kiernander had baptised seventeen adult persons of different casts. The Rev. Mr. Hulse, chaplain of Sir Eyre Coote, the commander-in-chief, had given five hundred rupees to the Mission; Mr. Kiernander himself, one thousand; and his son, three thousand.

Mr. Swartz had daily conversed with the inhabitants, who had flock ed in great numbers into the fort at CHRIST, OBSERY. No, 154.

Trichinapoly, to escape the unrelenting cruelty of Hyder Ally, in the hope of turning them from their idols to the living God. Only seventy-eight heathens and thirty-five papists had been received into the congregation, although they generally owned the superior excellence of Christianity.

The attention of the Society was directed at this time, to the wretched condition of the half-cast children in British India; and with a view to provide Christian instruction for some of them, they appropriated 501. a-year for the support of a teacher, and proposed to receive contributions for this particular object.

In the account of 1785, is inserted the translation of a Malabar tract, extensively circulated by the Missionaries at Madras, with a view "to make heathens, or other people in the dark, sensible of their bad way, and to lay before them the principles of the Christian and true religion, and the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ." The tract, which was written by Mr. Fabricius, is excellent; and it is published by the Society, as a specimen " of the mode of address used by the Society's Missionaries, to the heathen." We can only transcribe a part of it.

"What we have to say to you, is this. You know that there is one Supreme Being, the Lord of the whole universe; yet you name the names of many other gods and goddesses, and instead of worshipping him, or of seeking means to know him, you bow down to them, and worship them. But you ought well to consider whether what you do is right, and whether it will make you lucky or unlucky; and whether 4 M

there are any such gods and goddesses existing; or whether it is but a false imagination of yours, and a delusion of the devil, the author of all deceits and lies, whereby he leads people in the way to hell:you ought to consider all this, because, if in so important a matter you are deceived, what will be the consequence?"

"When men, not respecting the most high and gracious God, from whom alone they have their being and subsistence, turn to other gods, and go after them, do they not commit thereby the greatest injustice and treachery?-Remember, with fear, what God will do to such, hereafter, on the great day of judgment-Because, if the crime which a man committeth against another man, who is his fellow-creature, is punished, how much severer will the treachery against God be punished! - You are very cautious and circumspect that you suffer no loss in your temporal trade and estate, but why are you so entirely careless in the matter of the highest importance? The loss which by your idolatry you will suffer, is not the loss of worldly goods or substance, but the loss and destruction of your ownselves, and everlasting anguish, and torment in the other world. Be therefore prudent, turn to God, and seek his mercy; because, after death, no one will be born again into this world, as you perhaps, like many of your nation, think. The only time for your reconciliation with God, is this your present life."

"Sin having blinded and intoxicated men's minds, they have left the Lord, who made them; and instead of worshipping him, they have begun to worship sun, moon, stars, birds, beasts, &c. creatures, and to bow down to images of gold and brass, wood and stone, made by themselves. And, as holiness of life, commanded by God, doth not please their sinful and corrupt nature, their fancy makes them think that there are such wicked and las

civious deities, as their wanton poets have painted to them in their fables, and as do agree with their vicious temper. But such deities have never existed; and how can such, whose lewdness and wickedness exceed that of lewd and wicked men, be gods to govern and judge the world? Can a shameless and scandalous man upon earth, be thought a proper person to govern one town only? Or will the inhabitants of a town suffer one to live amongst them, who is manifestly guilty of such infamous actions as your books relate of your gods?-See how great is the deceit by which the devil seeks to lead you to hell. Can there be any sin greater than that of worshipping infamous beings and devils, instead of the holy and righteous God, who hath made us, and who is our only Lord and Benefactor? Doth not your conscience tell you that the worshipping of such gods, and the bowing down to idols, which never see, nor hear, nor speak, nor move, is unbecoming men of sense?

"A beast knows its owner, by whom it is fed; but if a man knows not the Lord, by whom he is daily maintained, nor gives ear to that word by which God hath revealed himself to mankind, nor calls on him by prayers, but goes after a vain thing that gives him nothing, and calls it God, he is certainly the most deceived and unlucky man. But so long as you remain such heathens, the devil governs and deludes you, and makes you believe the greatest untruths."

"Where are now those gods which they worshipped so long a time, and with so great a superstition in Greece and Rome? After the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, whom God sent from heaven, was preached and pub lished, all the worship paid with so great a pomp, in the said countries, to those gods and goddesses, is se entirely gone and vanished, that

even their names are no more mentioned there. And where is now; in all the other Christian countries,

the worship paid there, in old times, of paganism, to so many different gods? If they had been gods, how could their service and worship vanish away? But as all these things were nothing but fables and vanity, nothing of them has remained. It being then certain enough that they were not gods, would it not be a want of sense to think that your Siven, Vishno, Brumah, Pulliar, Amney, and others, who are worshipped in this country, are gods and goddesses?

"But now, dear friends, hear what we have further to say to you. The Eternal and Almighty God, your Lord and Maker, from whom you, as lost children, so long a time have gone astray, calls you still with great mercy to him again, saying, "Return, ye degenerate children, I am the Lord your God. Oh! have no other gods besides me: why do you like the way that leads to pain and destruction? Return to me, and I will change your corrupt nature by my Divine Spirit, the Holy Ghost." Oh! be obedient to this Divine call, dear friends, because though, according to Divine justice, you have deserved, by your sins, eternal damnation, and none of you can, by any means make an atonement for it, there is, by God's mercy, and by his mercy alone, a perfect good way, which God himself, by his goodness, hath made, and by which you can be cleansed from your sins, and not only escape the deserved punishments, but also become God's beloved children.

"Oh! hear then, with all attention, the glad tidings of so glorious and happy a redemption, effected for you, and for all mankind. There is a Saviour who taketh away the sin, and removeth all the unhappiness and curse produced by it. He is the Son of God, and of the same immense and divine essence with God; but has been mercifully granted to be our Mediator between God and us. He came down from heaven, assumed human nature upon earth, and, bearing the name of Jesus

Christ, took upon himself the guilt and punishment of the sins of the world; and in order to redeem us, he himself innocently suffered on our account the pains and death of a malefactor, and sacrificing himself to God, satisfied for us to his justice, and arising again from the dead on the third day by his Divine power, ascended again into heaven, commanding this Gospel of the redemption of mankind to be preached to all nations.

"Whosoever now renounces the devil and his works, the wicked way of the world, and the uncleanness of sin, and believing in this merciful Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, turns to God, and is baptised with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, the only true God in three persons, and yields himself up to him as an obedient child, his sins are forgiven, and he is made a child of God, and an heir of eternal bliss in heaven."

When we consider, that this tract has been circulating throughout the southern peninsula of Hindostan for nearly thirty years, without having excited the smallest dissatisfaction among the natives, or having attracted the slightest animadversion from the vigilant police which subsists under the British Government, we have an additional reason for doubting the correctness of their views who would persuade us that nothing but insurrection and massacre, and the overthrow of British supremacy, can follow the interference, even in the way of argument or exhortation, with the native superstitions. If this tract, so long known and so long unnoticed ;known, through the medium of the Society's Reports, to the first characters in the kingdom, and to many of the Directors and Proprietors of the East-India Company, without having drawn forth one word of censure;-if this tract were compared with those which, a few years back, seemed to the Bengal Government to be pregnant with disorder and

*

bloodshed, and which furnished, in 1813, such fruitful topics of declamation to some of our Anglo-Indian orators, it would be found to be not less reprehensible than these, on any of the grounds on which their sentence of reprobation was pronoced, if we except, perhaps, the ground of bad taste.

From the letters of Mr. Swartz, it appears, that at this period he had frequent communications with Mr. John Sullivan, then the Resident at Tanjore, and now, we believe, a member of the Board of Controul, on the best means of promoting "the welfare of the inhabitants in their spiritual and temporal concerns; and at the suggestion of that gentleman, he instituted several new schools, in which the natives, especially the principal natives, might learn the English language, and have "the salutary doctrines of the Gospel instilled into their minds.” Mr. Sullivan addressed himself to the King of Tanjore on this subject, and the king not only consented to the establishment of such a school, in or near his fort, but promised to pay forty pagodas (161. sterling) each month for its support.

We hear in this year, for the first time, of young Mr. Kolhoff, the same who still supplies the place of Swartz in India, and who then watched over the congregations at Tanjore, while Mr. Swartz was itinerating at a distance. At Ramanaburam, Mr. Swartz succeeded in instituting one of the schools recommended by Mr. Sullivan, to which the reigning prince of the province and his minister sent their children; and there also he preached the Gospel to all descriptions of persons. From the reigning prince he received a very kind reception.

The Report of the Society refers to a letter from one of their members, in which is the following passage" I have the pleasure to mention, that Mr. Swartz, the Missionary at Trichinapoly, has been the happy instrument, under God, ef making many, both of the mili

tary and of the natives, converts to true Christianity, not merely as an established mode of worship, but in the genuine spirit of the Gospel of Christ, not only to bear the sign of the cross in baptism, but really to take it up, and become true followers of their crucified Lord."

The number received into the Tanjore congregations, during the year, was one hundred and thirtysix; of whom, forty-six were adult heathens, sixteen adult papists, and the rest children.

(To be continued.)

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. THE letter of your correspondent, FUTURUS, (No. for August, p. 438), must commend itself to the good sense and piety of all your readers. The very important question which he proposes cannot possibly, I think, be left in better hands than his own. There is, however, a subject somewhat connected with a right view of the Moral Law, to which I conceive the attention of your readers may be advantageously drawn; I mean, a high and disproportionate kind of doctrinal sentiment, sometimes to be met with, which appears to me to err, not so much by any broad and positive departure from essential truth, as by a partial and intemperate exhibition of it. It wants the holy meekness, the just proportion, the wise use which the Scriptures uniformly inculcate, and in union with which the doctrines of the Gospel ought ever to be exhibited. I would willingly avoid the use of obnoxious terms; but I hardly know how better to describe by a single expression, the system of opinions I have in view, than by calling it, a crude Calvinistic theology. It cannot be considered as either enthusiastic or antinomian, in the stronger sense of those words, but it partakes, I fear, not inconsiderably of both these evils. It is sometimes found to be adopted by persons, I most sincerely believe, of fervent and exemplary piety-men whom we cannot but

love, and whom we should strive to imitate; but it more commonly infects the minds of the young, the ardent, and the inexperienced; honest perhaps in the main, but greedy of novelty, rash in decision, and eager in maintaining what they have once asserted. It is indeed the deep conviction that all error is unholy, and will surely, though perhaps insensibly, operate to the injury of the Christian's faith, and obedience, and joy, that has determined me to address you on the subject. I will not, however, dissemble the difficulty I feel in attempting it. To expose the faults of persons whom I believe for the most part to be truly pious, is dangerous to one's own mind. It is not easy to do it in the spirit of meekness. It is not easy wholly to avoid the errors which lie on the opposite side. It is not easy so to conduct yourself, that others may acknowledge and feel, that your motives are really upright. It is not easy to preserve your intentions uncontaminated with what is wrong. I think there is scarcely a worse temper of mind than that which can dwell with pleasure on the infirmities and mistakes of our brethren. At the same time we are, surely, permitted to state with modesty and firmness, what we conceive to be a departure from the simplicity of Christ; especially where such a statement may be the means at once of vindicating the truth of God from the misrepresentation of adversaries, and of guarding the young Christian from adopting views, which, however plausible they may appear, will infallibly lead him from the purity and humility of the faith of Christ.

The sentiments which I am about to detail, I impute to no individual, nor any number of individuals, in their full extent. A tendency to them in very different degrees, may possibly exist, where the consequences of the whole system are little suspected. I merely state what I conceive to be plain and tangible errors. Those who are

candid enough to read my statements with attention, and compare them with the Holy Scriptures, though they should differ with me in judgment in some particulars, will yet, I should hope, receive them with the same spirit of affection in which they are offered, and fervently implore the grace and teaching of the Holy Spirit, on their re-consideration of the points to which they relate. On the system itself, I must beg leave to speak strongly and decidedly. A regard to truth will not allow me to palliate here. I really believe, that no one thing is more calculated to check the reviving piety of our days, and to provoke the Almighty to withdraw from us the light of his countenance, than the high and unmeasured doctrinal sentiments to which I allude; and the spirit and conduct with which they are too generally combined. Such sentiments and views, "will eat as doth a canker." And it is the duty of every sober-minded Christian to enter his protest against the adoption and propagation of

them.

The chief errors of this crude system, appear to me to be these. 1. A disproportionate statement of the doctrines of election, predestination, and the decrees of God. 2. The inculcation of the atonement and righteousness of Christ, to the exclusion of almost every other topic. 3. The omitting directly to address the ungodly, and to call them to faith and repentance. 4. An excessive endeavour to produce comfort in the minds of those who are considered as sincere Christians. 5. A merely slight and general explication of the duties of obedience. 6. An unscriptural and highly dangerous view of the doctrine of final perseverance. 7. An unsound and fanciful method of interpreting the Holy Scriptures. 8. A censorious and positive temper in pressing their sentiments on others, and in condemning those who decline to receive them.

1. The first point, then, is a dis